Bread of Life

"I am the bread of life." // John 6:48

I have a very vivid memory of struggling to get to daily Mass one particular morning. At the time I was pregnant, with two littles in tow, and everything in me was fighting it. Every excuse my brain could muster flooded my thoughts: "This is really asking a lot of you" . . . "Do you even have shoes in the car for the toddler?" . . . "It's the thought that counts!"

Battling back my demons, I made a left-hand turn and parked the van. It had been one of those mornings, and I viscerally felt the push and pull of my spirit and my flesh: willing and weak. By God's grace I got out of the car and kept walking, and upon entering the church (a good ten minutes late, mind you), my eyes immediately rested on two other young mothers on their knees in the foyer, with no fewer than six other children worming around on the floor beside them.

Immediately, almost miraculously, a balm swept over my soul and filled me with peace. In that moment, I knew I was not alone in my struggle, I knew the troubles of daily life were fleeting, and I knew how deeply I needed Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist, even, especially even, if I had to fight to get it.

"I am the Bread of Life," says the Lord.

Do I believe it?

It struck me that day how close I had been to dismissing that urge that had called me to the Mass in the first place. If I really knew, Jesus, the grace You pour out on me in Holy Eucharist, if I really knew the power of this Living Bread.

Help us, Lord, to know it and to long to meet You at the altar.

Help us, Lord, to know it and to long to meet You at the altar. // Blythe FikeClick to tweet

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